Vodka

Halt!

This is Fujimaru, and I am Avicebron. We are members of the rebel army. Please open the gate.

Oh, it's you guys. Perfect timing!

What do you mean...?

The boss has another favor to ask you.

She wants your help hashing things out with other Servants!

...!

Hey there.

...Hm? Where's the other one?

Where'd Mash go?

Hello, Patxi. I hope you don't mind my cutting in remotely like this.

I, uh, I was reassigned to the rear guard.

Avicebron is here now, and I can only be so much help in battle...

So for the time being, I'll be supporting you all as a navigator.

Oh, huh. All right.

...Anyway, you looked pretty tough to me, but I guess I was wrong.

I...

So, you have returned.

Patxi told me everything that happened. You did well, convincing two out of the three villages to help us.

It is a shame the third village was destroyed, but there's nothing we can do about that now.

...I take it Mash has bowed out?

...Yes. I'm so sorry.

It is fine. You must have your reasons, so I will not pry.

If you have determined you are unable to fight, then removing yourself from the battlefield is the only sensible decision.

...Now then.

While you were visiting those two villages, we learned about another possible ally.

While it's safe to say that most of the frontier area's population is on our side...

...we still have precious few actual soldiers who are able to fight.

Understandable, given that most of them are mere villagers.

You see, there's actually another faction here in Russia, in addition to the Tsar's Oprichniki and our rebel army.

Our numbers are primarily composed of farmers, but theirs are deserters and former nobility.

...The problem is that this faction is also being led by a Servant.

...!

Do you know who they are?

I've met him once.

I still know little about him, but I believe he was of a class similar to my own.

He also...

...Ahem. He also, um...wasn't wearing any clothes.

I am afraid I did not get his name.

O-of course not! H-his lower half was completely covered!

That would never fly among us either.

？！

At any rate, given that their leader is also a Servant, it falls to me to meet with him.

Avicebron, I would like you to keep an eye on our base while I am gone. Would you mind?

What say you, Master?

？！

Very well, your wish is my command. I will leave your golem as it is then.

Atalante, would you like a golem as well?

No, thank you. I have no need for any vehicle. My name is famous for a reason.

...Ah, yes. As I recall, you were the fastest runner in all of Greek myth.

Patxi, I want you to come with us too.

They're sure to get suspicious if we come without at least one Yaga.

Furthermore, I am told you are a hunter, so I would like you to kill and dress any beasts we find along the way.

I could do that as well, but I doubt the same is true for the Chaldean.

Got it. I can do that.

Well, Fujimaru, looks like you and I are heading out together again.

Well then, you can help me collect herbs to get rid of the meat's gamy scent.

？！

...Then it looks like we're good to go.

Oh, right. Patxi, would you tell Yashkia to come here?

You got it.

Nyaooo!

Ahahaha!

...Tch.

Hey. You're Yashkia, right?

Huh? Yeah, that's me...

The boss wants to see you. Some kind of message before we head out.

Got it. I'll be right there.

...?

...This is a map. And it's not of this area; the topography's too different.

Are they planning on relocating the stronghold?

...Eh, whatever.

All right, everyone, take care of things while I am gone.

It's in good hands, Boss.

Are you leaving, Boss?

Yes. But do not worry. I promise to return.

Okay!

...All right now.

We'll start with a cave at the halfway point. Patxi, you'll obtain and dress some meat before we get there.

Got it. All right, might as well get going.

The weather is nice today. The blizzard has died down considerably.

That is one of the worst things about this world. I am afraid this is as close as it gets to a bright and sunny day here.

Yup. Any day where the storm weakens is a lucky day.

We almost never get weather like this, after all...

？！

...Wait. Is your world a lot brighter than this, Fujimaru?

Yes, it is.

It depends on where you go, but I would certainly say blue sky is much more common in our world.

Though, honestly I haven't seen much of it myself, so it's a little silly for me to speak of it like I'm an expert...

Blue sky, huh... For us, this is about as blue as it gets.

...Hey, when you say blue, you mean BLUE blue, right? Do you really get clear skies like that?

？！

I see... What a weird color for the sky...

Not at all.

A clear blue sky brings peace of mind to all manner of people.

...Of course, different people do prefer different colors of sky. That's just as true for Yaga too.

...Still, for us old-fashioned humans, it is depressing seeing the sky so stormy all the time.

Anyway, I can smell Demonic Beasts nearby. Let's go hunting, Fujimaru.

Man, I'm still super impressed with you guys...

Hm? What's that scent?

...That is no Demonic Beast. It smells like Yaga blood. It is likely too late to help, but we should go check it out nonetheless.

Hey, I found them. Although...

？！

I see...

They're dead. I suppose they had an unlucky encounter with Demonic Beasts.

No, it's not that. They were killed by a weapon...and a frighteningly sharp one at that.

...No Yaga sword or hatchet would make a cut so clean.

Their skin is much tougher than any human's, so the only way to cut through them like this is with a very sharp weapon and a truly powerful blow.

Could it be a Yaga hunting other Yaga with a blade? Or maybe there's a Demonic Beast with blades like this?

I've never heard of anything like that. And then there's these footprints...

These are no Yaga prints. These are human prints, like yours.

Like ours...?

Come to think of it, we did hear about someone who protected a Yaga village from bandits...

Ah yes, the one who supposedly sliced off the bandits' arms in an instant. This may indeed be our swordsman, but there is too little evidence to be certain.

It could also be another Servant we know nothing about, after all.

We shall have to keep all that in mind. Now come on, the sun is going to set soon.

We can rest in the cave up ahead. Patxi, will you drain our prey's blood?

？！

Guess this stench WOULD be a lot for a human to take.

Just sit tight. You can make most of it go away by draining the blood and letting it sit in water mixed with salt and herbs for a while.

I'll put the entrails aside, too. If you boil them and keep them in a leather pouch, that can work as a lure for Demonic Beasts.

If things get bad, you can just toss it and the things'll go running after it.

Are the entrails inedible?

Hmm, technically no, but they don't exactly taste great. Plus, they're real poisonous.

Then they must contain a lot of toxins. It'd be safer to just avoid them, then.

Yup. But the back meat's safe. Here, I just finished cooking some. Go on, eat up.

Right?

Bear, huh? What sort of creature is that? Is it weak? Does it taste good? Is it filling?

？！

Fom fom.

You know, the more I look at that thing, the stranger it seems...

From our perspective, it is you Yaga who are the real wonder. I still cannot fathom how your kind has managed to survive in this frigid world.

It DOES regularly fall below minus one hundred degrees at night and on particularly cold days. I don't see how even merging with Demonic Beasts let you survive...

...Don't go around asking other Yaga about that. It's considered a serious taboo.

...?

There was a time...back before we had guns that could kill Demonic Beasts...when we used to eat weak Yaga.

!!!

Well...you know how people used to breed livestock, right? Artificial selection, I think they called it?

That's how we survived this long, too.

The weak were weeded out. The strong and weak were analyzed to see what separated them, and the strong were prized above all else.

After we merged with Demonic Beasts, we ate those who were swallowed up by their power, or couldn't handle it, or couldn't ever see themselves going on like this.

Next, we fed on the young and sickly, followed by those who were just straight-up weak.

After all that, we stopped just being a combination of Demonic Beast and human, and started being Yaga.

My old man told me where our name came from a long time ago. It was something like "Baba Yaga" I think.

Baba Yaga... That's a figure from Slavic folklore. I believe she was a man-eating witch.

They say that's where we got the idea to start calling ourselves "Yaga".

That's what we started calling ourselves to set us apart from the old, frail humans.

Or maybe because we were willing to kill and eat our own kind.

...Anyway, now you know why we're called that. It reminds us, so we never forget what we did.

Somebody named us Yaga for a reason. So when you get right down to it, we really aren't like you guys.

...No, maybe not.

We ARE weak and frail, which is why we banded together.

...To be honest, I feel rather at home among this Yaga society...except when it comes to the children.

I have no problem with grown-ups fighting and eating each other, but children...

？！

...That is none of your business.

...Maybe that's why the other Yaga accepted you as their boss.